Making Accusations Against a Pastor

I recently read an article about a pastor who is well-known in his region.

This pastor was accused of unspecified offenses and placed on paid leave … a humiliating experience.

The governing board immediately called in an outside investigator.

The leaders promised that when the investigation was over, they would make a complete disclosure to the congregation.

Two weeks later, the pastor was exonerated. When he re-entered the pulpit, the congregation gave him a standing ovation.

I was glad that the pastor was cleared of the charges against him. And I was glad that the church launched an immediate investigation into those charges.

But what the article never stated was what happened to the pastor’s accusers.

If the issue revolved around some kind of possible financial impropriety – say, a questionable expense account purchase – then maybe the accusation came from a church financial officer who was just doing their job.

But if the accusation was made maliciously and recklessly – as is often the case – then what should church leaders do to the accuser?

There are at least three possible options:

First, do nothing.

The accuser made their charge. The charge was investigated. The charge was thrown out.

End of story.

Maybe it’s wisest to let the whole matter die out.

The accuser stays in the church … maintains any leadership position they may have … and the church carries on as before.

But if the accusation was malicious or reckless, then congregational life came to a halt … and the pastor’s career was in jeopardy.

If I were a church leader, I’d be uncomfortable doing nothing to the accuser.

Second, forgive the accuser and move on.

My guess is that most people in that church eventually learned the nature of the accusation … but may never have learned the name of the person who initiated it.

The tendency in Christian churches is to forgive people unilaterally without confronting them in any way.

In this case, the leaders in the church’s inner circle undoubtedly knew who made the accusation against the pastor.

In the future, they might feel uncomfortable in the accuser’s presence, or wonder if he or she might someday accuse them of something ominous.

But in spite of that, most church leaders will just “let things go” and not pursue any kind of justice against a false accuser.

And once the pastor was exonerated, he may not have wanted to press any kind of charges against the accuser as well.

Just forgive and forget, right?

But is this biblical?

Finally, ask the accuser to repent or leave the church.

There are two primary biblical passages that deal with making accusations against another person:

*Deuteronomy 19:15-21 in the Old Testament.

*1 Timothy 5:19-21 in the New Testament, which specifically deals with accusations against elders and pastors.

It’s so serious that Paul writes in 1 Timothy 5:22 that the investigative process should be carried out “in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels” and that Timothy is to “keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.”

It’s a grave matter to accuse a spiritual leader of a serious offense.

The Timothy passage has its roots in Deuteronomy 19 where we’re told “a matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”

Please note that verses 18 and 19 say that if an accuser “proves to be a liar” after “a thorough investigation” has been done, then “do to him as he intended to do to his brother.”

If the accused was going to be arrested, then arrest his accuser. If the accused was going to be stoned, then stone the accuser.

Moses concludes, “You must purge the evil from among you. The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid and never again will such an evil thing be done among you.”

What’s “the evil?” What’s “an evil thing?”

It’s making a malicious and false accusation against another person … especially a spiritual leader.

Many churches state in their governing documents that congregational members can sign a petition to make charges against their pastor. But those same documents state that if the petition signers are unsuccessful in their attempt to oust the pastor, then they either have to relinquish any offices they hold or leave the church.

Why?

Because they’ve tried to lie about their pastor in order to get rid of him. The purpose of deception is destruction.

If accusers make charges against their pastor, and an investigation is done, and the charges are not true, then the congregation should be informed that the pastor is innocent of the charges made against him.

But the work of the governing board is not complete. They need to meet with the pastor’s accusers and give them a choice:

“You need to repent of your false accusations before this church body, or you need to leave the church immediately. What are you going to do?”

I know someone who has served as an interim pastor in many churches. After he came to a church, he’d do some investigative work, and if the previous pastor was pushed out, he’d find out who did it.

He’d call that person into his office and hand them a written confession. Then he’d say to them, “This Sunday, one of us is going to read this confession in front of the congregation. If you don’t do it, I will. What are you going to do?”

I don’t know why it is, but too many Christian leaders … maybe most … will carry out a biblical process only so far.

If the pastor is pushed out of office, in their mind, that’s the end of it. Time to secure an interim, form a search team, and find another pastor.

But because the leaders never address the false accusations made by certain people, the leaders … and the congregation … and the pastor who left … never gain a sense of closure.

And the lies are never “purged” from the congregation, but linger on in the church’s memory and soul.

The biblical process from Deuteronomy and 1 Timothy isn’t about personal retribution but about corporate health. Christian leaders cannot allow other believers to lie about pastors with impunity.

Sadly, some accusations against pastors are true. A distinct minority of pastors do things that disqualify them from ministry, and those pastors should be given the opportunity to repent and/or leave their churches as well.

But some professing Christians … for whatever reason … seem to take delight in gossiping about their pastor … and trying to destroy his reputation, ministry, and career.

If our churches continue to do nothing to the false accusers, how will we ever convince the world that Jesus is the truth?

3 Responses

Hi Jim; Are the statistics covering all church groups? For instance, are Catholics experiencing these kinds of troubles with their congregations and clergy? I have an Uncle who is Seventh Day Adventist and he doesn’t like the reforms that have taken their church out of the traditional role. My Cousin is Church of Christ and he is concerned about the new music and influence in their church.
In Christ; Michelle

It’s good to hear from you! I trust you and your family are doing well.

The Bible verses I cite in today’s blog are applicable to all Christian groups. SDA and Church of Christ clergy have problems with false accusations, as does anyone and everyone in the public eye. The Roman Catholic Church has much more of a hierarchical system and so any accusations tend to be handled by going to a bishop.

Christian churches that are evangelical in nature tend to have congregational government, and so it only takes a few people to make an accusation against a pastor and he can be in real trouble, even if the accusations aren’t true. This is why pastors need to be protected by biblical safeguards. It’s always good to remember that Jesus was crucified based upon false accusations.

I’m not aware of the issues with the SDAs or the Church of Christ. Would the “new music” in the Church of Christ have to do with the use of instruments in worship?

The reason I bring these issues up is because many pastors are forced to resign whenever they’re accused of some charge. People become anxious and want the pastor to resign, even if he did nothing wrong. They just want the problem to go away and so they scapegoat the pastor to bring the church back to normality. In the meantime, the pastor’s reputation and career are often destroyed and the church gains a reputation as a church where injustice occurs.

That is an important point. I think one of the key things for this to work is for people to have clear instructions about where to take concerns that is considered appropriate and not rumor spreading and also who and how they should expect to receive information.

Reading the post I couldn’t help think about eye for an eye which we poo poo some times in the church but need to remember Jesus wasn’t lowering the bar but raising it. But one of the places we see that eye for an eye language is in the directions about what should be done when false accusations have been brought maliciously which is that the worst possible penalty that could have been dealt to the falsely accused is instead to be dealt against the accuser. Certainly the expectation of repentance or departure is mild compared to what often befalls a minister. Frankly it is also caring in so many situations.

I think of my major false accuser. The senior and lay leadership where unable or willing to back me in insisting that there be a system of accountability for continued lies and sabotage. By not taking it on directly in an official and some what public way it meant that this person who was in part responding to her misguided but no less troubling fears and anxieties about changes in leadership and her role. I would confront her and try and take things up directly sometimes with one or two others who where also there to challenge something but beyond that she went on unsure who knew and who didn’t and unsure weather she was pulling the wool over some people’s eyes still or not which I think contributed to her frantic increase in inappropriate and unprofessional behavior.